How to repost Instagram public photos, videos to your Stories

Instagram has rolled out a new feature which allows users to share posts to Stories from their accounts. This isn't the 'repost' feature most Instagram users wish for but it will still help with not having to screenshot a post you want to share to stories. This feature is currently available for Android users in India, with an iOS update rolling out soon.

How it works

You can share someone's post to your story by tapping on the paper airplane icon located down below. When you tap on the icon you will see an option which says "Create a story with this post". You can then share the post as a 'sticker' on your story feed. At the same time you will also see the list of friends from your following list with whom you can share the post via 'Direct'.

Instagram says that you can share posts only from accounts which are public. Just below the post the original user's Instagram handle will appear. You also have options to rotate and scale the 'sticker' and tap on it for different styles. You can also add your own text in different styles and fonts as you would normally on your stories.

The post will appear against a coloured background which cannot be changed. While you can share video posts also as your story, note that it will appear as a photo. The video won't play on your story. As with every feature on Instagram this one also comes with the option to turn it off. Simply go to your settings menu on Instagram and scroll down to the option that says "Allow Resharing to Stories".

Instagram has shifted its focus from the feed to 'Stories', its most successful copy of Snapchat. Instagram Stories itself has 300 million daily active users which is more than the entire 166 million userbase of Snapchat. Earlier this month Instagram announced the integration of sharing songs and photos from Spotify and GoPro. The photo sharing app also rolled out a new emoji slider for stories last week.